Meal Plans 101

All students living in a traditional on-campus residence hall are required to purchase one of the available on-campus meal plans, except students living in University Courtyard, One Easton or family housing. Students required to purchase a meal plan will be automatically assigned and billed for the 14 Weekly default plan. Students who will be living off campus or in University Courtyard and family housing are not required to purchase a meal plan, but still have the option to sign up for an on-campus meal plan, off-campus meal plan or All Points plan.

Guest meals can typically be used to treat friends or family to a meal in a dining hall. Each on campus meal plan and voluntary Block plans include 5 guest meals.

Meals do not rollover. Any meals remaining at the end of a given week, or at the end of the semester, will expire. Points will rollover within an academic year from summer sessions, fall semester & winter sessions through to the spring semester. However, points will expire after the final day of spring semester.

Meals can't be added during the semester; however, if you still want to access the all-you-care-to-eat residential dining locations, you can enter by paying at the door. Points can be added to your meal plan throughout the semester by visiting www.udel.edu/diningrequest.

Members of the campus community can order food for pick-up from participating on-campus restaurants using the Grubhub app. It’s a quick and safe way to order and pay for on-campus food, with dining points, Flex or credit card, from any mobile device. Instead of waiting in line, UD students, faculty and staff should order ahead through the Grubhub app and pick up their food. For those who already have the Grubhub app, follow these steps: Open the Grubhub app, go to My Grubhub and under Settings, choose Campus dining; confirm the campus – University of Delaware; add campus card using your UD credentials; and browse restaurants on campus and start ordering. For those who don’t have the Grubhub app, download and sign up for the Grubhub app here, and then follow the steps above.

Students can see their remaining balance of meals after each entry into the residential dining locations. Points balances are displayed on registers after each transaction. Students can also check their meal plan balances online in UDSIS.

Of course! If you are experiencing an illness or injury that does not allow you to attend a regular meal service at one of the residential dining halls, you may arrange to have a meal prepared at one of the dining halls and picked up by an authorized roommate or friend per our policy.

If you are not cleared to utilize campus facilities as a result of the University of Delaware Daily Health Check, you may order a meal from the dining halls and designate a roommate, friend or UD staff member to pick it up, or you may pick up a pre-packaged meal yourself using designated entrances, per our policy.

Dining Services typically operates 3 residential, all-you-care-to-eat dining locations, 2 food courts with a variety of restaurants, 5 markets, 5 coffee shops & bakeries, snack bars and concessions at both the Whitney Athletic Center and Bob Carpenter Center.

You can use meals at our residential, all-you-care-to-eat dining locations centrally-located Caesar Rodney Fresh Food Company, Russell Dining Hall on East Campus, Pencader Dining Hall on Laird Campus and Whitney Kitchen on South Campus.

Our hours of operation, as well as seasonal hour changes, can be viewed by visiting Locations & Menus.

No, University of Delaware meal plans are only redeemable at on-campus dining locations and cannot be used at eateries on Main Street or at any other off-campus restaurants.

Yes! Daily menus for each residential dining location and can be viewed by visiting Locations & Menus.

Dining Services works hard to accommodate students with dietary restrictions due to food allergies or intolerances. You can check ingredient and allergen statements online for menu items served in our residential dining locations. You can also set up a consultation with our registered dietitian, Leigh Runyan, by email at lrunyan@udel.edu  to learn more about dining options that fit your needs. 

Caesar Rodney Fresh Food Company and Pencader Dining also have True Balance Allergen Solutions stations, which further accommodate students and guests with food allergies and gluten intolerances. The menus for True Balance have been carefully designed to eliminate the top nine food allergens: milk, eggs, crustacean shellfish, fin fish, tree nuts, peanuts, soy and wheat/gluten.

Yes! There is an OU-certified kosher station in our Caesar Rodney Fresh Food Company. P.O.D. Markets also offer an assortment of pre-packaged kosher items. Hillel at the Kristol Center for Jewish Life provides holiday meals as part of the student's participation on a meal plan. Shabbat dinner is provided free of charge.

There are designated vegan and flexitarian stations in Caesar Rodney Fresh Food Company. Pencader & Russell Dining Halls also serve vegan options throughout each meal. You'll know if a menu item is vegan by the nutrition ID card displayed near the item. The cards include Just4U Nutrition Highlights - colorful icons that make it easy to identify and select the best options for you.

There is a designated allergen solutions station, True Balance, in our Caesar Rodney Fresh Food Company and Pencader Dining Hall. The P.O.D. Markets also offer an assortment of pre-packaged made without gluten items.